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chickenfeet ([personal profile] chickenfeet) wrote2005-09-14 03:58 pm
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Piment d' espelette

A lot of Basque recipes call for piment d'espelette which is a kind of paprika made from a specific kind of pepper grown in the Basque country. I had never seen it at the market until today and have tended to substitute smoked paprika. Today Schefflers had some jars hidden away amongst the truffles etc. Unfortunately it was $19.99 for 50g which is decidedly pricey. I'd like to try it but the proprietor said it really wasn't all that exciting. So I didn't.

ETA: Oddly enough one of the other stalls at the market now has fancily packaged flageolets verts and lentilles du Puy. The latter cost something like $11.99 for 500g which is a bit ironic since the bulk place immediately next door has them for $1.65/pound. I'm a bit suspicious of the fageolets too because, as I understand it, the 2004 crop was pretty much wiped out by drought so I suspect they are fairly ancient.

[identity profile] buzzy-bee.livejournal.com 2005-09-14 08:02 pm (UTC)(link)
If its hidden away who knows how long its been there. I suspect its probably not that exciting any more :(

[identity profile] chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com 2005-09-14 08:07 pm (UTC)(link)
No, it's new. They only just started stocking it. That was why the proprietress could tell me about it. She had tried it for the first time quite recently.

[identity profile] lemur-man.livejournal.com 2005-09-14 08:32 pm (UTC)(link)
a specific kind of peeper

A Basque lemur writes:

You'll never get your hands on my peepers!

Image

*scampers up nearest olive tree*

[identity profile] ex-ajhalluk585.livejournal.com 2005-09-14 10:12 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm very fond of lentilles de Puy and a fiver a pound (which seems to be the right sort of analysis) isn't so bad if you aim to put 2 oz into (say) a species of cassoulet for four (with a tin of blander beans), or a nice dish for two.

The expensive bit is the good quality chorizo, pig trotters or whatever to flesh out the lentilles.

[identity profile] chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com 2005-09-14 10:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, but if I can walk 5m and buy my lentilles du Puy for $1.65/pound why would I pay 7 or 8 times as much for them in a fancy tin? I do miss the flageolets though. They were the best for cassoulet.
lnr: Halloween 2023 (Default)

[personal profile] lnr 2005-09-14 11:09 pm (UTC)(link)
ETA has a rather more interesting connotation when you've been talking about the Basque region...
lnr: Halloween 2023 (Default)

[personal profile] lnr 2005-09-14 11:11 pm (UTC)(link)
My cassoulet the other day was very much a cheap and cheerful version of the real thing. Especially once you've carefully made it v low fat (I know that's kind of against the point). It was nice though.

[identity profile] pigsnout000.livejournal.com 2005-09-15 09:07 pm (UTC)(link)
A very good point